NEWS
【NEJIGAMI #Episode 5】How to Remove a Galled / Seized Stainless Bolt Without Cutting or Heat
Before you reach for the grinder or the torch.
When a galled bolt won't come out with penetrant, the "last resorts" on the shop floor are usually **destructive** — and each carries a cost.
- **Cutting (grinder / cut-off):** reliable, but you cut the part itself, with risk of collateral damage.
- **Drilling out and re-tapping:** slow, and a wandering pilot hole damages the parent material.
- **Nut splitter:** breaks the nut off. The tool is expensive, and the bolt is often not reusable.
- **Heat (torch):** aims to loosen via expansion, but risks burning nearby seals, plastics, wiring, or paint — and often does not even work on stainless galling.
- **Impact or a cheater bar:** the bolt bends or snaps before it releases.
These trade "it came out" for **new costs: replacement parts, re-machining, and time.** A seized lug nut that ends in replacing the whole hub for tens of thousands of yen is not rare.
The goal, of course, is to **release the seizure and back the fastener out without cutting, drilling, or breaking anything** — especially where the part must be reused, or heat cannot be applied near sensitive components.
But because galling is a metal weld, a "lubricate and loosen" mindset rarely achieves non-destructive removal. What you need is an approach that **cuts away the welded metal and breaks the bond first, then turns.** The next article covers a chemical built to do exactly that — and the comparison test that showed it removing galled bolts without deforming them.
**Related articles**
- Article 4: [Why Penetrating Oil Won’t Free a Galled Bolt](https://neji.jisscrew.com/news/detail.php?id=341)
- Article 6: [Seized Bolt Remover That Works When Penetrants Fail — NEJIGAMI](https://neji.jisscrew.com/news/detail.php?id=339)
**Want to remove it without destruction?**
**[NEJIGAMI]**https://www.jisscrew.com/details/index.php?cid=168 is built to free galled stainless fasteners without cutting the part or breaking the nut.
This article is part of our complete guide: Stainless Steel Galling — Causes, Removal & Prevention